For Casey Cortez, the past eight months of school started with a bugler blaring reveille at dawn and ended with the sound of taps at night.
As a student and cadet at the Hargrave Military Institute in Chatham, Va., Cortez wore a military uniform to class, ate in mess halls, drilled in the afternoons and lived a strictly regimented life.
But along with the basic training, Cortez learned how to be a college basketball player. He was the sixth man on Hargrave’s prep-school squad, which will send 10 players to Division I teams later this year.
“It was basically a college team,” Cortez said. “We played North Carolina’s junior varsity team at the Dean Dome, we played against Virginia and N.C. State’s J.V. teams. We got the experience of being college players.”
On Monday, the 6-foot-8 Cortez signed a letter-of-intent to play for the Northwestern men’s basketball team. Andrew Long, a 6-foot-2 guard from Houston, also signed Monday to join the Wildcats.
They become the third and fourth players in coach Kevin O’Neill’s 2000 recruiting class. Jitim Young, a 6-foot-2 guard from Chicago, and Ed McCants, a 6-foot-5 guard from Marion, Ohio, have already signed.
Long averaged 14 points and five assists per game in leading Stratford High School to a 26-8 record. He chose NU over Columbia and St. Mary’s.
Cortez qualified academically to play college basketball after graduating from De La Salle High School in Danville, Calif. However, he wanted to attend Hargrave for a year to improve his study skills as well as his game.
“It definitely wasn’t easy,” said Cortez, who has all four years of his college eligibility remaining. “But Hargrave did so much for me. It opened up so many doors, including Northwestern’s.”
Cortez averaged 18.9 points, nine rebounds and six assists per game as Hargrave’s post-graduate team finished the year with a 20-3 record. He said his decision came down to NU or La Salle.
Both players took recruiting visits to NU this weekend and were impressed with O’Neill’s program. They said they played with the Cats’ returning players as well as Young and McCants.
“I thought it was a real good place to go,” Long said. “They have a great group of young guys who I will be able to play with for a long time.”
Long said NU coaches believe he will be a shooting guard. Cortez will play in the paint — where O’Neill has only two players coming back after freshmen centers Brody Deren and Adam Robinson left the team in late March.
“I think it’s a great fit for me,” Cortez said. “There’s a good opening for me at my position and they play in the greatest conference in America.”
O’Neill praised the two recruits in a statement.
“Casey is a skilled big man with a year of prep experience,” O’Neill said. “He will certainly add depth to our front line and give us a post man who can play inside and out.
“Drew is someone who is going to surprise a lot of people. He’s a great shooter, moves his feet well and is totally dedicated to the game. I’m really excited about the four guys we’ve signed and feel we’re moving in a positive direction with our basketball program.”
NU will return four starters from a team that finished 5-25 overall and 0-17 in the Big Ten. Cortez said he believes the program will become formidable in the near future.
“I can’t wait to get out there with them,” said Cortez, who has finished his year at Hargrave. “We’ve got good players, a great coach, and in a couple of years we’ll be doing fine.”
